Cambodian History - Genocide & Festivals

On our first full day in Phnom Penh, we decided to spend it learning about the atrocities committed against the Cambodian people by Pol Pot and his regime. This comprised a visit to the Ek Choeung Genocidial Centre (the Killing Fields) and the Tuol Sleng Prison Musuem.

Upon exiting our hotel, we found a Tuk Tuk driver named Mr Cow who agreed to take us on a return trip to the Killing Fields for $15 USD. We jumped in and started our journey, with Mr Cow stopping at key points of interest and telling us a bit about the history in each location. Cow told us about government corruption (pointing out the police taking bribes), the cost of living, the forced removal of local farmers and the reclamation of their paddy fields (used to grow crops such as morning glory) to build expat housing estates and the relocation of locals (with little or no government payout) to make way for large building developments. It's safe to say that although the Cambodian way of life has greatly improved since the reign of the Khmer Rouge, the country still has a long way to go in equal and fair treatment of the Cambodian people.

After about 40 minutes of driving along uneven roads through small villages, we arrived at the Killing Fields. The first thing I noticed when queuing to buy a ticket was signs which prohibited people from playing Pokemon Go inside the centre. It saddened and shocked me that these signs were required and that people had so little regard and awareness for the atrocities that were committed here. We later found out by reading the local newspaper that both the genocidal centre and the Tuol Sleng Prison museum were used as meeting points for Pokemon Go players which rightly drew anger from survivors and victims families. The shear ignorance is unbelievable.

Upon paying, we recieved our audio guide and commenced our tour of the museum which was as you might expect, harrowing. The tour takes you around the mass burial sites where small fragments of bone lie on the surface of the soil as the audio guide recounts stories of surviviors and soilders. Recovered clothes and larger bones are presented in glass boxes at various points throughout the tour which finishes off by showcasing over 3000 skulls in a large temple, which are identified by their age, gender and the method of murder. I had been warned that this place was a very difficult to come to, and by all accounts it was, but, it is also important to witness the evil that can be done by other human beings to ensure that you are able to do everything in your power to ever prevent it from happening again.

Feeling a bit washed out, we took a quick break by doing a little bit of shopping before we headed to the Tuol Sleng S21 Museum. Mr Cow (who had waited for us in the Museum), offered to stop and wait for us while we perused the Russian Market, so we took him up on the offer and went to explore the shop stalls and food hall. 1 hour later, with more elephant merchandise than I knew what to do with, we proceeded to the museum, where we said our final goodbyes to Mr Cow, who had been so warm and friendly and gave him some extra money for showing us his city.

Before the Khmer Rouge, the S21 was a school. During Pol Pot's reign, it became a torture centre, where thousands of men, women and children were sent to be interrogated and tortured, after which they were sent to places like the Killing Fields where they were murdered. Entire families (including children) were killed during this time for fear of retaliation and revenge being sought against the regime. The museum showcases the cells for both solitary and mass detention, pictures of prisoners and mechanisms of torture. Again the audio guide takes you through a number of first hand accounts while you walk around and witness the brutality of the human race.

We walked the 30 minutes back to our hotel, deep in discussion about how humans can be so cruel to one another whilst surrounded by hordes of Cambodians celebrating the Water Festival. This in itself suppressed the sadness I felt after spending the day witnessing crimes against humanity at its highest level. It was now the second day of the three day Water Festival and things were getting crazier by the minute. The water festival is held to celebrate the end of the monsoon season and the semiannual reversal of flow of the Tonlé Sap river. In 2010, 347 people were killed and 755 were injured in a human stampede. The annual festival was cancelled for the following 3 years and was only held again in 2014. However, the 2014 festival failed to attract the crowds and in 2015 it was cancelled again. So the Cambodian people have waited 2 years for this event and they were certainly in a mood to party.

We quickly dropped back in at the hotel for a swim and shower, before heading down to the waterfront to meet Gauthier and Brice to watch the fireworks in a cordoned off area with seats which was set aside especially for tourists, and adjacent to the Royal tent. We had the best seats in Phnom Penh (with the exception being the Royal tent) however, it felt weird being given special treatment to watch a local festival when the locals peered in through the fence from the outside.

Whilst in tent, we ran into our South African friends - Bianca and Jon, and decided to go for a few drinks before grabbing a bite to eat. We had a few happy hour beers and went on our merry way fo find dinner before I died of hunger.Read more